Apparatus for coating metal sheets



(N0 Model.)

G. RUSSELL.

APPARATUS FOR COATING METAL SHEETS.

Patented Aug. 21, 1894.

mums HIYERS 0o. worou'ma. WASH UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE RUSSELL, OF MCKEESPORT, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR COATING METAL SHEETS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 524,736, dated August21, 1894.

' Application filed March 6, 1893. Serial No. 464,837- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE RUSSELL, a resident of McKeesport, in thecounty of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Apparatus for Coating or Enameling Metal Sheets;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof.

My invention relates to the coating of sheet metal with enamel, such,for example, as the coating of what are known as ferrotype plates,

the plates on which ferrotypes, or, as they are sometimes termed, tintypes, are made, enameled signs and enameled sheet iron generally, suchas for panel and other work. The usual process of preparing such enamelhas been to dip the entire sheet into the enamel, the result of whichwas the coating of the sheets on both sides, and the consequent largewaste of enamel, while an even distribution of the same over the sheetwas exceedingly hard to obtain, or the application of the enamel to thesheet by means of a brush, which again left the sheet streaky because aneven distribution in that way was also exceedingly difficult to obtain,and had the further disadvantage of requiring the sheet to be kept withits face upward, in which position dust or dirt was more liable toadhere to the sticky surface after the enameling operation and mar thesame. The object of the present invention is to improve the apparatusfor coating these sheets in such way as to obtain an even distributionof the coating material, the economic use of the same, and the coatingof the sheets in such way that they are notso liable to receive dust ordirt, while the coating operation can be performed much more rapidly.

To these ends my invention consists, generally stated, in a machine forpracticing the invention having, generally stated, a pan containing theenamel, rolls therein to receive the enamel and carry it up into thecourse of the sheet, distributing rolls and metallic supporting rolls tohold the sheets in contact with the distributing rolls as will behereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

To enable others skilled in the art to practice my invention, I willdescribe the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, inwhich lowsz-Supported in a suitable frame a is the pan Z9 which ispreferably made shallow, and

in such case has at one end thereof the well' I) to receive thegravimeter in testing the specific gravity of the enameling compoundcontained within the pan. The rolls employed are supported in thehousings or horizontal bars (1 extending between the standards c whichare connected to the machine frame a and extend up a suitable heightabove the same for the support of all the housings required in themachine. The housings d support the rolls 6 e, the bearings of the rollsbeing secured to and depending from housings, and supporting the rollsin such position that they will enter within the pan 1) so as to receiveand carry up the enamel therefrom. Above these rolls are thedistributing rolls ff supported in the housingsg by like bearings, andabove the distributing rolls f f are the metallic rolls h h supported inthe housings t' by suitable bearings.

The rolls 6 e ff are formed of a composition of glue and othermaterials, the same as employed for printing rolls, the result beingthat the rolls themselves are soft and yielding and that by adjustingthe contact between the rollse and fore and f, the amount of enamel tobe carried up by the distributing rolls and delivered to the sheets maybe regulated according to the pressure of the rolls upon each other. Forthis purpose any suitable regulating means may be employed, a simplemeans being illustrated, the holes in the housings through which thebolts connecting them to the standards 0 extend being made of sufficientsize to permit any desired adjustment within a limited space so as tobring the rolls into contact or cause them to press against each other,or relieve them from contact when not in use, as may be desired. Fig. ofthe drawings illustrates this means of regulating the pressure of therolls, the housing having the hole k therein of greater size than thebolt Z, and the standards 0 being made of two metallic bars orstrips,-one extending on each side of the housing, so that the boltpasses through, the enlarged hole It and by the loosening of the boltthe Operator may by hand raise or lower the housing or adjust itlongitudinally, as may be found desirable. Any other suitable means forregulating the pressure of the rolls, may, of course, be employed.

It will be noticed in Fig. 1 that the metallic rolls h h do not contactwith the rolls ff This is considered desirable, as it is .only requiredthat the sheet shall be enameled upon one side, and the function ofthese rolls is to hold the sheet in contact with the enameling ordistributing rolls f For this purpose, the rolls h h are placed slightlyin advance of the rolls f f and with'their lower faces about on a line,or almost on a line with the top faces of the rolls ff, the rolls thusserving to hold the sheet in contact without receiving any, of theenamel upon the surfaces of the metallic or hard rolls. Other functionsare performed by these rolls as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed.

For the purpose of driving the rolls at the proper speed, any suitablegearing may, of course, be employed, the gearing devices shown in thedrawings being arranged as follows: The shaft 6 of the roll e extendsout at one side so as to receive the pulley e which is driven by asuitable belt c and upon the said shaft outside of the housing is thepinion or gear wheel m which meshes with the gear wheel 11 on the shaftf of the roll f, power being thus transmitted through the pinions m n tothe upper roll On the shaft 6 of the roll 6' is the pinion m whichmeshes with the pinion 'n/ on the shaft f carrying the roll f. Totransmit the power to the pinions m n, I employ the loose running pinion10 which is carried by the yoke p, the yoke 11 being made adjustableupon one of the upper housings 'L', the yoke 10 having a slot therein sothat the pinion 1) may be adjusted upon the housings to gear properlyboth with the pinion n and the pinion n. As the machine is in operation,the power transmitted to the shaft e is thus transmitted by the pinion nto the roll f and from the pinion n through the loose pinion p andpinions n m to the rolls f 6' respectively, all these rolls being drivenpractically at the same speed. In order to drive the upper rolls h h, Iprovide pulleys or collars on the shafts, the shaft e having at the endopposite to that carrying the pinion m the collar 0" and a belt 4*extending from said collar to the collar or pulley h in the roll h. Thispulley or collar is made of sufficient width to receive another belt 8which extends over a like collar h on this roll h, so transmitting thepower to that 1'0 As so constructed, when the enamel, which is asuitable surfacing for metallic surfaces, is taken up by the two lowerrolls 6 e and carried to the upper rolls f f, and the contact betweenthese rolls is carefully adjusted so that the amount of enameldistributed over the surfaces of the upper or enameling rolls ff shallbe even and regular and of a suitable thickness or quantity, accordingto the amount transmitted to the metallic sheet,the operator then takesthe sheet, which is usually a thin sheet of iron,steel,or other metal,and passes it forward and causes it to strike against the metallic rollh. This roll forces the sheet downwardly and carries it against the rollf, so insuring the enameling or coating of the sheet at the extremeforward end thereof, so that no part of the surface of the sheet is leftuncoated. The rolls draw the sheet in and the enamel upon the roll f istransmitted to the lower surface of the sheet, and as the sheet passesforward it comes in contact with the enamel roll h which again forces itdownwardly against the roll f, and a second coating of the enamel isthus transmitted to the sheet, the double coating of the sheet insuringthe covering of the entire surface thereof with the enameling compoundin one pass through the machine, and soft or yielding composition rollsact to cause a very even distribution of the coating material over thesheets. The second roll f acts both to spread the enamel fed to thesheet by the roll f and to further coat the sheet, it being preferredthat the amount of enamel carried by the second roll shall be less thanthat carried by the first roll, this being regulated by the pressure ofthe rolls 6 f. After the sheet leaves the first set of rolls f h, theweight of the part which has passed beyond the second set of rolls holdsit in proper contact with the coating roll f, so that it. is coated outto theextreme edge thereof and the sheet is then re ceived by theoperator who holds it by pressure upon the edge, the sheet having beencoated on the lower surface so that the liability of dust or dirtadhering to the sheet during the coating operation is avoided, and beingreceived by the operator with its coated surface down, in which positionhe can carry the sheet until he reaches the rack on whichitis to beplaced for drying or baking, when he will invert it and slip it upon therack. The metallic rolls employed in conjunction with the yieldingcomposition rolls thus act to hold the sheet in contact with theenameling rolls without themselves receiving any enamel, so that onesurface of the sheet is coated while the other remains clean andfreefrom enamel. At the same time, by placing these rolls slightly in'advance of the enameling rolls, the metallic rolls not only hold thesheet in contact but through insuring the coating of the entering edgeof the sheet and the coating of the opposite end of the sheet as itleaves the mar .by the passage of the sheet first between the rolls f hand then between the rolls f h, the double enameling of the sheetinsuring the formation of a perfect enameled surface thereon. The sheetscan therefore be produced much more rapidly, more perfect enamelingsurfaces formed, the liability of the thickened edges from the gatheringof the enamel at the edges prevented, and the amount of enamel necessaryfor coating materially reduced.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. In apparatus for coating sheet metal the combination of a soft orcomposition roll rotating in the direction the sheet is to be fed, andmeans for coating the same with enamel, and a metallic roll above thesame, rotating in the direction the sheet is to be fed, the

metallic roll being set in front of, and out of contact with the softroll, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In apparatus for coating sheet metal, the combination of a pan forholding enamel, two sets of soft or composition rolls, each having oneroll within the pan and the other roll above and in contact therewith,and metallic rolls above the upper rolls of the sets, the metallic rollsbeing set in front of but out of contact with the upper rolls, anddevices for driving said rolls, substantially as and for the purposesset forth.

3. In apparatus for coating sheet metal, the combination of a pan forholding enamel, two sets of soft or composition rolls, each having oneroll within the pan and the other roll above and in contact therewith,and metallic rolls above the upper rolls of the sets, said rolls beingmounted in suitable housings, said housings being adjustable within thesupporting standards, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said GEORGE RUSSELL, have hereunto set myhand.

GEORGE RUSSELL.

Witnesses:

JAMES I. KAY, J. N. OooKE.

